Halo for FreeSpace
Halo for Freespace (a.k.a. FS2H, Freespace 2: Halo, Halospace) is a standalone mod for FreeSpace 2 Open based on the Halo universe. So far the project seems to be a one-man show, with all game content created by Devrous, though most of the music seems to have been written by others. The game is unofficial, and neither Microsoft or Bungie Studios has made any comments as of yet.
Contents
Plot
Current Halo games focus on the planet-side battlefield aspect of the universe, leaving the space battles aspect mostly untouched except for brief cutscenes and depiction within the official novels. Halo for Freespace will attempt to portray some of the major events mentioned but not elaborated upon within the canon timeline.
So far Devrous has announced three chapters and the possibility of smaller campaigns in between.
I have several "Chapters" planned, each one their own release, and each one dealing with a different time, subject, and even race. Chapter One will be "Colonial Unrest." It takes place in the 2490's and deals with the biggest insurrection in UNSC history (untill the 2550's presented in the books, that is). Chapter Two will be in the 2520+ range.
As of now, FS2H will be divided into three chapters, with a demo and several mini-chapters in between.
Official game chapters (and a brief description) are as follows:
Chapter One: Colonial Unrest
Colonial Unrest takes place somewhere in the late 25th century and depicts the struggle between the UNSC and the myriad rebel factions within the colonies of Earth.
Chapter Two: Cole Protocol
Cole Protocol will attempt to fill in some of the gap between the introduction of the Covenant and the fall of the planet Reach. The campaign will focus primarily on Vice Admiral Cole's fleet in the Outer Colonies; the only official offensive movement by the UNSC against the Covenant invaders.
Rindmere Saga
Hinted at in emails sent between Devrous and a few fans, a sort of stand-alone chapter is planned that completely goes outside Halo canon and focuses on the Forerunner. Whether there will be actual Forerunner or just their leftover technology remains to be seen.
Chapter Three: Retribution
No information has been given on Chapter 3 other than when it takes place; after the events of Halo 3.
Fan-made adventures
Devrous commented on his hopes that there will be a lot of fan-made missions based on his work.
I'm anticipating that a bucketload of fan-created missions and campaigns will follow...
I'm sure that the best Halo missions will be made by people here in the FS2 community, not me. But I will give it an honest try :-)
Vessels
Devrous had this to say about the ships in Halo for Freespace:
I've modelled 63 ships as of this moment, and most of those are human I think...Yes, 11 are Covenant, 3 are niether, and the rest are good 'ol fashion hu-mon.
When completed, Freespace 2: Halo will incorporate over 70 different ships...
UNSC vessels from the official games that appear in screenshots are the Longsword interceptor, Marathon cruiser, the Halcyon cruiser, the UNSC Frigate, and the Orbital MAC Guns. But with over 70 different ship classes planned and 63 already modelled, there will be a lot of new additions compared to the canon ship list.
Multiplayer
No information has been released, though it was mentioned that there will be multiplayer.
System Requirements
In a forum post at halo.bungie.org, Devrous stated that he started this mod on an older computer (1.7GHz, 256MB RAM) and will endeavor to make it compatible with older machines. Since the mod now uses the FSOpen engine, it is likely that a newer computer will be required to run the game smoothly.
